Editorial: County shouldn't be paying for 'Cadillacs'

Some of the property that has become The Banks was registered land, according to Hamilton County Recorder Wayne Coates, adding to the complexity of the project. It has mostly been deregistered now, but 15 percent of the land in Hamilton County remains registered. Shown: Construction at The Banks in May.
(Photo:
The Enquirer/Cara Owsley
)

Local governments have had to make a lot of hard choices in recent years to reduce spending. This is not one of them.

The Hamilton County commissioners have a refreshingly easy opportunity to save a little money for taxpayers and some home buyers by eliminating registered land certificates.

A registered land certificate is an extra-secure type of deed established centuries ago to ensure correct property boundaries. Unlike a traditional deed, the certificate lists the entire ownership history of the property, and when it's sold it must all be retyped.

To continue the practice, Recorder Wayne Coates would have to spend $150,000 to replace staffers who have left. He'd also have to hire a company to build a customized computer system, at an estimated cost of up to $1 million, as his office replaces its obsolete system.

Hamilton County's other option is to stop registering land. Commissioners have until early August to make the decision.

The county is one of the few in Ohio that still has registered land, and it has a lot of it: 52,000 parcels, or 15 percent of all property, Enquirer reporter Dan Horn found for a recent story.

Land registration can cost home buyers and sellers significant time and money. The basic recording fee to buy registered land is $60 more than for unregistered – a fee that offsets but doesn't always entirely cover the county's costs. Complications can mean extra time and hundreds of dollars more in legal expenses.